Wine can be the Main Attraction at a Dinner Party

Call it the Second Law of Social Dynamics: The heartfelt desire to host friends or neighbors for a special dinner is negated by the fear of planning the menu, the prospect of finding just the right ingredients, and the idea of spending the better part of a weekend trapped between sink and stove.

Throwing a dinner party for eight, six or even four people can be a nerve-wracking adventure no matter how well-equipped your kitchen is or how many cookbooks you've collected over the years.

I'm here to tell you it doesn't have to be that way.

My wife and I love to entertain, but we have an active lifestyle that includes running, biking, sailing and hiking. And now, three kids. Needless to say, that doesn't leave a lot of time for trips to the supermarket and liquor store, preparing dips and marinades, chopping vegetables, assembling a stew or casserole and setting the table.

The idea is quite simple: Instead of making food the main attraction, play up the wine. This could be anything from sampling three or four varieties around the kitchen counter to a fullblown wine tasting at the dining room table. The point is to focus on the wine so you can go basic on the food.

How basic?

I'm talking real basic: a spiral-cut ham from Costco supplemented by a nice selection of bread and cheese; take-out Thai or sushi; pizza, delivered. We've done it all. And we're always up front about it. We'll call a few neighbors or friends and say, "Do you want to come over for dinner Saturday night? We're going to taste some Italian wines and probably just order some pizza or something." No one's ever turned us down, and we always seem to have a blast.

And best of all: We can go out hiking with the kids until late afternoon and still pull things together for dinner at 7.

The only trick is selecting the wine. You want at least three or four different wines to compare and contrast; if it's a small group, you can always send the leftovers home with your guests.

I also recommend choosing some kind of theme, which will help focus the evening and justify your unconventional "menu." The theme could be a country (French, Italian, Spanish) or a grape variety (syrah from California, Australia and France) or something even more specific (Chiantis from three or four vintages).

Here are three "themes" I can recommend from experience:

Take-out sushi

Order a good assortment to suit everyone's taste: a few vegetable rolls; some mild-tasting fish, such as yellow tail; something with a little more seasoning, such as spicy tuna; and one or two exotic numbers, such as eel or fried salmon skin.

For the wine, pick out an assortment of American whites, including a riesling from the Finger Lakes or Washington State; a pinot gris from Oregon; a sauvignon blanc from California; and a chardonnay from just about anywhere. Taste tip: Look for an unoaked chardonnay, which generally has a cleaner, crisper flavor.

Deli platter

Call your favorite Italian, German or Portuguese specialty shop and ask them to put together a platter that includes several types of smoked and/or cured meats, two or three cheeses, some grilled, roasted or pickled vegetables and a couple kinds of olives. Throw in three or four loaves of artisanal bread and a jar or two of fancy mustard or flavored mayonnaise and you're ready to rock.

Your options for wine are practically endless. If the food is distinctively ethnic -- Portuguese, say -- then stick with Portuguese wines. Pick out two or three whites, including Portugal's famous vinho verde ("green wine"), and as many reds, including the dry, earthy wines of the Douro Valley. Otherwise, go international and compare an Italian white (pinot grigio, for example) to an Austrian white (gruner veltliner), a French red (Cotes du Rhone) to a Spanish red (Rioja).

Pizza
The number is probably taped to your refrigerator: Luigi's Pizza, or Tony's, or whatever. Call it. And instead of ordering two or three large pies, make it four or five medium pizzas, each with different toppings. (No pineapple, please.)

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to wine and pizza -- or wine and anything, for that matter -- but my personal preference is Italian. Since pizza is believed to have originated in southern Italy, around Naples, I'd go with red wines from southern Italian regions such as Apulia, Campania and Sicily. Taste tip: A particularly good value is Salice Salentino from Apulia, the heel of Italy's boot.

Restless Palate

The movie "Sideways" converted legions of wine drinkers from merlot to pinot noir, thanks to the protagonist's disdain for the former and love affair with the latter. The 2004 film was set in Santa Barbara wine country, and sales of California pinot noir haven't slowed down since.

But the original -- and, aficionados will tell you, still the best -- pinot noir is made in France's Burgundy region. Indeed, red Burgundy is synonymous with pinot noir, since French law allows no other red grape to be grown there.

If you want to taste for yourself, compare your favorite $20 California pinot noir to the 2006 Joseph Drouhin Chorey- Les-Beaune ($24). Don't be surprised if the Burgundy initially tastes lighter and less fruity than the California wine; that's by design. The beauty of red Burgundy is its elegance and easiness with food. Taste tip: Throw the bottle in the refrigerator for about 15 or 20 minutes before opening for a more refreshing flavor.

Garden Plate Vines
Amalthea is gaining a reputation as one of the state's best wineries, thanks in part to a series of "blind" tastings owner Louis Caracciolo has hosted pitting his wines against some of the top estates in Bordeaux and the Napa Valley. This wine is a blend of two-thirds cabernet franc and one-third merlot, fashioned after the legendary Chateau Cheval-Blanc in Bordeaux.

The review: Rich, mellow and delicious, with ripe fruit flavors and a hint of sweet vanilla from oak-barrel aging. One of the best New Jersey wines we've tried.

Show Off
True or False: The first wine to be bottled each year is Beaujolais Nouveau.

False. Beaujolais Nouveau, which must be bottled and shipped by the third Thursday in November, is traditionally the first French wine of the vintage. But winemakers in the Southern Hemisphere -- Australia, Chile, New Zealand, South Africa -- pick and vinify their grapes in the spring, which is their fall. Their wines began arriving here months ago. Taste tip: If you want to try an '08 wine now, check out the 2008 Nederburg Lyric from South Africa, an unusual but delicious blend of sauvignon blanc, chenin blanc and chardonnay

Cocktail Corner
The Irish Twin

Source: Stage Left, New Brunswick

Why it works: "Irish whiskey is a perfect foil for the season's fresh pear," says Francis Schott, co-owner of the restaurant and creator of this autumnal cocktail.